Reeds Q4 2024 Earnings Report

Reeds EPS Results

• Actual EPS: -$1.38
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Reeds Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $9.73 million
• Expected Revenue: $8.68 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$1.05 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Reeds Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q4 2024
• Date: 3/25/2025
• Time: After Market Closes
• Conference Call Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
• Conference Call Time: 8:30AM ET

Reed’s, Inc. is a U.S.-based beverage company specializing in the development, production and distribution of craft soft drinks, mixers and functional beverages that feature real ginger and other natural ingredients. The company’s flagship Reed’s Ginger Brew line includes Original, Extra and Stronger formulations, each brewed using fresh ginger root to deliver a balance of spicy flavor and perceived health benefits. Reed’s also markets a portfolio of craft sodas under the Virgil’s brand, offering varieties such as Root Beer, Craft Cola and Vanilla Cream Soda without artificial sweeteners or preservatives.

Founded in 1989 by Christopher J. Reed, the company has pursued a clean-label strategy, emphasizing simple ingredient lists and traditional brewing methods. In addition to its core sodas, Reed’s produces mixers designed for culinary and cocktail applications, catering to both retail and foodservice customers. Its products are distributed through a network of regional and national wholesalers, grocery chains, specialty retailers and on-premise establishments across North America.

Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, Reed’s operates manufacturing facilities and partners with co-packers to support production scalability and seasonal demand fluctuations. The company’s supply chain focuses on sourcing high-quality ingredients, including ethically harvested ginger, cane sugar and natural fruit extracts. Reed’s has also explored international export opportunities, selectively entering markets in Europe and Asia where consumer interest in functional and craft beverages is growing.

Under the ongoing leadership of founder and CEO Christopher J. Reed, Reed’s continues to innovate within the health-oriented beverage segment, leveraging ginger’s historic reputation for digestive support and anti-inflammatory properties. The company is publicly traded on the OTC Markets under the symbol REED and remains focused on expanding brand awareness, enhancing distribution channels and introducing new product extensions that align with shifting consumer preferences for clean-label, specialty beverages.

Reeds Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Reed's completed a $10 million private placement and completed strategic debt restructuring, leaving it with approximately $10.4M cash and materially lower net debt versus prior year to fund inventory rebuild, hiring, and go-to-market efforts.
• Negative Sentiment: Management attributes the 2024 sales decline primarily to inventory production constraints, vendor credit limits, and short-order shipments, and says rebuilding inventory (60–90 days) is required before consistent order fulfillment and sales recovery.
• Positive Sentiment: Reed's is launching a new multifunctional soda line (ginger + adaptogens + prebiotic fiber) with early retailer interest and > 8,000 points of distribution expected to hit shelves between April–August 2025.
• Positive Sentiment: The company secured notable retail gains (e.g., +1,100 placements at Albertsons Safeway, ~3,000 incremental points for Virgil's) and is transitioning key SKUs from glass to cans to lower delivery/handling costs and improve margins and price competitiveness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results showed improved gross profit and a 30% gross margin (versus 4% a year ago) and a smaller operating loss, but Reed's still reported negative adjusted EBITDA and used cash in operations due to higher inventory purchases.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning, and welcome to Reed's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024. My name is Joelle, and I will be your conference call operator for today. We will have prepared remarks from Norman E. Snyder, Reed's Chief Executive Officer, and Douglas McCurdy, Reed's Chief Financial Officer. Following their remarks, they will take your questions.

[Operator]

Before we begin, please take note of the company's cautionary statement. Today's call will include forward-looking statements, including statements about Reed's business plans. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties and only reflect management's view as of today, March 26, 2025, and the company is under no obligation to update them. When discussing results, the presenters may refer to non-GAAP measures, which exclude certain items from reported results.

[Operator]

Please refer to Reed's fourth quarter 2024 earnings release on Reed's investor website at investor.reedsinc.com, and its annual report on Form 10-K for the 2024 fiscal year expected to be available on the website soon. For definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures and additional information regarding results, including a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from forward-looking statements, I will now turn the call over to Mr. Snyder.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2024 results. Throughout this past year, we implemented strategic initiatives to strengthen our financial and operational foundation to position Reed's for long-term success. We reinforced our balance sheet, streamlined operations, and enhanced efficiencies, laying the groundwork for sustained growth and profitability.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

While net sales declined in 2024 due to inventory production constraints, vendor credit limits, and short-order shipments, our disciplined approach to operations, new product launches, and targeted investments have set the stage for a return to growth, gross margin enhancements, and shareholder value creation in 2025. Turning to the fourth quarter, a key milestone for us was the completion of a $10 million private placement, which closed on December 30, 2024.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

We have begun to deploy the funds this year to both build inventory levels, enhance personnel, and sales and marketing resources. As previously discussed, inventory constraints have posed challenges in fully meeting customer demand, particularly during the second half of 2024. However, with the completion of our private placement and strategic debt restructuring, we now have a deleveraged balance sheet and enhanced financial flexibility.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

This capital infusion will enable us to maintain inventory at optimal levels, ensuring consistent order fulfillment rates and reducing the short-order shipments that previously hindered our growth. As we move into 2025, although the process to rebuild inventory can take approximately 60-90 days, today I am pleased to share that we are well positioned to capitalize on increased retail demand, drive greater operational efficiency, and expand our presence across key distribution channels to build sales momentum as we progress throughout the year.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Another important development, which took place after year-end, was the appointment of Douglas McCurdy as Chief Financial Officer and Salvatore Vassallo as Vice President of Operations. Douglas brings extensive experience in finance, corporate strategy, and capital markets, having served as both the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for multiple early-stage growth companies. His expertise in financial management, operational scaling, and strategic capital allocation will be invaluable in optimizing our cost structure and driving sustained profitability.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Sal joins us with a deep background in inventory management, strategic sourcing, and supply chain optimization with leadership experience at Boylan Bottling Company, Ferrero, Snapple Beverages, and Henkel. His proven ability to enhance procurement strategies and strengthen distribution networks will be an asset to Reed's. Together, Douglas and Sal will play instrumental roles in driving operational excellence, maximizing profitability, and advancing the company's growth objectives.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

In addition to reinforcing our leadership team this year, we are also expanding our product portfolio with the launch of our new multifunctional soda line. This innovative lineup is formulated with organic ginger, complex adaptogen mushroom extracts, and prebiotic fiber. Each serving contains only 5 grams of sugar, approximately 30-45 calories, 500 milligrams of adaptogens, and 2,000-5,000 milligrams of organic ginger.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

The flavor profile includes Berry Bubbly, Strawberry Vanilla, Lemongrass Ginger, and Root Beer. These beverages cater to the rising demand for health-conscious, functional refreshment options and position us at the forefront of the evolving beverage market. This launch is a natural extension of our legacy, leveraging Reed's expertise in natural, plant-based ingredients to create Better For You beverages that deliver both great taste and functional benefits.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

The early response from retailers has been overwhelmingly positive, reinforced by their expansion of shelf space dedicated to the functional and Better For You beverage category. We have already secured over 8,000 points of distribution for this new product line, which is expected to hit the shelves between April and August 2025 across key national retailers, including Sprouts, Kroger, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and National Co-op Grocers. Looking ahead, we expect strong momentum as we roll out this product line throughout 2025.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Now turning to our fourth quarter sales and operational highlights. We experienced solid retail gains during the fourth quarter with new points of distribution secured across major retailers. We gained over 1,100 new placements across Albertsons Safeway for Reed's Ginger Ale, Virgil's Root Beer, and Vanilla Cream cans. Additionally, Flying Cauldron is now part of the National Display program, where sales have exceeded expectations.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

As we head into the summer selling season, we anticipate continued momentum. Our four-pack Reed's Ginger Ale is now the number one ranked SKU in dollar sales within the expanded natural channel over the latest 52 weeks ending February 23, 2025, generating $1.9 million in sales. With a 6% market share in this category, we see substantial opportunities for further growth.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Virgil's handcrafted cans have been added to National Co-op Grocers, INFRA, Smart & Final, Harris Teeter, Giant Eagle, Stop & Shop, with an expanded assortment launching in Sprouts after a strong 2024. This expansion brings an additional 3,000 points of distribution in 2025. We continue to transition from glass bottles to cans at key retail partners, including Whole Foods and H-E-B. The strategic shift underscores our efforts to improve delivery and handling costs on a per-case basis and lower price points for consumers.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Our team successfully rotated our winter variety pack at Costco in Q4 2024 and secured commitments to expand our assortment into 2025. The winter variety pack includes Ginger Ale, Cranberry Ginger Ale, and our new Blackberry Ginger Ale. This expanded lineup features our ready-to-drink Classic Mule, set to launch in Costco clubs across Los Angeles and Hawaii, starting in late April 2025. We secured placement at Walmart for our new 7.5-ounce mini eight-pack cans for both ginger beer and Ginger Ale, marking the first major retailer to take our new mini can format.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

In early 2025, secondary placements surged with a successful off-shelf completed at Sprouts, an upcoming shipper program with Kroger, and a BOGO promotion at Publix, both set to launch in the second quarter of 2025. These placements are a testament to the strength of our brand and the growing demand for our premium craft beverages.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

As we continue to expand our distribution footprint, we are focused on ensuring that we can meet demand with improved inventory management and production efficiency. Throughout the year, we continue to take proactive measures to streamline our distribution network, reduce input costs, and improve our supply chain. These efforts have resulted in continued gross margin improvement that is currently in the low to mid-30% range quarter to date, driven by the optimization of our ginger beer formulation, better pricing on key materials, and supply chain improvements.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Our co-packing partnerships with Battle Co-Packing and DrinkPak have strengthened our production capabilities for both bottles and cans, ensuring consistent supply and mitigating freight inefficiencies. With these improvements in place, we expect to generate meaningful savings in delivery and handling costs, which have already been reduced by 10% in Q4.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Additionally, our transition from glass bottles to cans across Reed's and Virgil's portfolio has been well received by both our retail partners and consumers, enabling us to offer a more cost-effective format. We have successfully built our finished goods inventory during the current quarter and will be in a position to drive sales growth beginning in the second quarter.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

This increase in inventory will also contribute to improved service levels and to lower freight logistic costs, improved gross margin, sales velocity, and promotional sales performance. Q1 customer orders are steady and are trending ahead of last year. During the four weeks ending February 23, 2025, the U.S.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Natural expanded channel, as reported by SPINS, contained 8% dollar sales and 13% unit sales growth, while IRI multi-outlet data, which is defined as multi-outlet, including grocery, convenience, drug, mass, club, dollar stores, military, and Walmart, had mixed results, although there were several positive trends as we continue to see momentum in Ginger Ale as well as benefits from our continued transition from glass to cans with ginger beer.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

The sales velocity for Virgil's is lagging as we are still working through the glass-to-canned transition for our full sugar line. Looking ahead, our continued execution of strategic initiatives, enhancing distribution, refining our cost structure, and launching innovative functional products provides a solid framework for success in the evolving beverage market. We remain committed to delivering premium, Better For You beverages that resonate with consumers while driving value to our shareholders. Before wrapping up closing remarks, our new CFO, Douglas McCurdy, will cover the financial highlights for the quarter in more detail. Douglas, over to you.

[Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.]

Thank you, Norman. I'm pleased to address our shareholders and prospective investors for the first time as Reed's new CFO. I was drawn to Reed's for its incredible brand heritage and the opportunity to return the company to sustainable growth and profitability. I'm very much looking forward to partnering with Norman and the entire Reed's team in the journey ahead. Turning to our results, all variance commentary is on a year-over-year basis unless otherwise noted.

[Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.]

Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $9.7 million compared to $11.7 million in the year-ago quarter. This decrease was primarily driven by short-order shipments due to prior inventory constraints. Gross profit for Q4 2024 increased to $2.9 million compared to $0.5 million for the same period in 2023. Gross margin was 30% compared to 4% in the year-ago quarter.

[Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.]

The increase was driven by one-time charges in the prior year period, including a $1.8 million non-cash packaging inventory valuation adjustment and a $1.3 million provision for product holds related to the company's swing lid program. Delivery and handling costs were reduced by 10% to $1.7 million during the Fourth Quarter of 2024 compared to $1.8 million in the Fourth Quarter of 2023.

[Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.]

Delivery and handling costs were 17% of net sales, or $3 per case, compared to 16% of net sales, or $2.82 per case during the same period last year. Selling general and administrative costs were $4.8 million during the Fourth Quarter of 2024 compared to $3.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Altogether, operating expenses were $6.6 million compared to $5.4 million in the year-ago period.

[Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.]

Operating loss during the fourth quarter improved to $3.7 million, or negative $0.25 per share, compared to a loss of $5.0 million, or negative $1.55 per share in the fourth quarter of 2023. Modified EBITDA was negative $0.7 million in Q4 2024 compared to positive $43,000 in the year-ago period. For the fourth quarter of 2024, the company used approximately $3.9 million of cash from operating activities compared to cash used of $0.2 million for the same period in 2023.

[Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.]

This was primarily driven by higher inventory purchases compared to the year-ago period. As of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately $10.4 million of cash and $9.6 million of total debt net of capitalized financing fees. This compares to $0.6 million of cash and $27.4 million of total debt net of capitalized financing fees at December 31, 2023. I will now turn the call back to Norman for closing remarks.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Thanks, Douglas. As I reflect on our journey over the past several years, I can't help but feel incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished. Reed's has navigated through both challenges and opportunities with resilience, creativity, and a deep commitment to our mission.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

The foundation we've built financially, operationally, and culturally is one I believe will support the company for years to come. With a revitalized product pipeline and meaningful growth initiatives underway, Reed's is poised for an exciting future. Thank you to our employees, partners, and shareholders for your continued belief in this company. With that, operator, we're ready to open the line for questions.

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press star followed by the one on your touch-tone phone. You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by the two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. Your first question comes from Sean McGowan with Roth Capital Partners. Your line is now open.

[Sean McGowan, Equity Research at Roth Capital Partners]

Good morning. Thanks. Norman, I was wondering if you could give us a little bit more color on some of the new products that you were describing. Sound pretty exciting that they've been received pretty well so far. Where do they fit in kind of a grander scheme of what's happening in non-alc beverage right now in the industry? Are you gravitating towards almost probiotic, or what's the plan there?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Sean, great question. I think it addresses, from my perspective, there are three key aspects. One is that, obviously, my position with what Reed's is has been plant-based. It's been a forefront leader in the category, premium, Better For You. It seems like we just haven't received that recognition across the board, particularly from the millennial and Gen Z consumers.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

To me, this was a perfect opportunity to really introduce Reed's and the benefits of our products to those consumers. At the same time, retailers are just creating more and more space for this functional or modern beverage category. It's really amazing how much they've cut back from both the traditional and the premium and craft segments. There is a lot of space opening up that, obviously, we want to play in.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

If you look at where the growth is in the category, everything else is staying fairly stagnant, and this is really the fastest-growing category. It was a natural extension for us. I do not think it is a forced creation, but it is an extension of who we are. Rather than be a prebiotic, a one-dimensional prebiotic, as you recall, in my earlier comments, I called it multifunctional.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

We have the impact and the efficacy of ginger, which, by the way, we did a lot of research, and that really resonated with this consumer group, which, quite frankly, surprised me but made me very happy. It is ginger-based, which is a big point of difference. We have the adaptogen-based, which is a big point of difference with functionality in both gut health and cognitive energy. Obviously, we have the prebiotic fiber.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

We're not just single-dimensional, but multi-dimensional, and really playing as to who we are. We think we have a big point of difference with that. Last but not least, these products taste great. They fit with all the current key attributes: low sugar, a low calorie range, and all the other key attributes that you're seeing. I think we have a best-in-class entry into this category.

[Sean McGowan, Equity Research at Roth Capital Partners]

Thank you. That helps. Thank you.

[Operator]

Your next question comes from Will Ben Dujou, an investor. Your line is now open.

[Will Ben Dujou, Investor]

Hey, Norman. Good morning. How are you?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Good morning. How are you? Well.

[Will Ben Dujou, Investor]

Good. Good. Two quick questions. First one, what's the deal with the alcohol portfolio? Is that really taking just kind of a backseat and maybe not taking off like you guys thought it would? Or unless I missed it, I didn't hear any mention of it.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

I don't know if I'd call it a backseat. I think if you recall, on earlier presentations, we decided that rather than trying to go a mile wide and an inch deep, we're going to try to go a mile deep and an inch wide, and really fell back to key retailer partners like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and others that Reed's does very well, and there's a high brand recognition.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

We've really focused on that. However, the last half of 2024, we really struggled with building and maintaining inventory. Unfortunately, that did fall back to the back burner. We're gathering additional interest. This Costco rotation that's coming up in Los Angeles and Hawaii is going to be huge. We're starting to reignite interest, particularly as the weather turns warmer, and then we get into a much stronger inventory position.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

You'll see that start to pick up. The focus has really been on retailers where Reed's has done well, and there's a high brand recognition. We purposely slowed down. Obviously, the inventory situation impacted that, but now we're turning the jets back on as we build inventory. I think you'll see more growth coming into the warmer weather later in 2025.

[Will Ben Dujou, Investor]

Okay. Thanks. Just picking back off of that with the inventory challenges, looking at revenue, we're down $16 million, call it 30% over the last two years. Do you attribute that 100% to cash constraints and lack of inventory? What do you think the pull for Reed's products is? Outside of cash constraints and inventory, is there enough pull there to really get this company going? Do you see this as a $7,500 million revenue company, or has it just been because I feel like every call, we're adding 10,000 new doors here and there, but the pull just has not been there. Do you attribute that solely to the constraint?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Yeah. I do the majority of it because the orders have been there. Like I said earlier, even our Q1 orders are slightly ahead of last year. The orders have been there, and we've really—I mean, our short shipments really got to a very dangerous level where I had to go out and spend time with a lot of key retailers, assuring them that a fix was in process, what we were doing, what were some of the causes.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

My takeaway is what kept us going with a lot of these partners were the strength of both Reed's and Virgil's and their belief in the success they've had. I think you'll see the numbers come back very strong. I mean, one of the things that I watch very closely is scan data.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Seeing when we replenished the natural category, the expanded natural category, to see strong green numbers pop up just reinforced my belief that it was a supply chain and not really a demand issue. We had probably one of the best four-week periods we've ever had with Sprouts. I believe our dollar sales were up like 50%, and our unit sales were up 100%. Now, granted, we had some promotional activity involved there.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

When we're able to supply and keep a steady cadence, it generates into so much momentum, including promotional activity, which, by the way, we had to walk away from, which, quite frankly, was a smart decision because we would have been severely penalized if we didn't. We walked away from a lot of promotional activity because we didn't have the ability to fulfill it, which would have been very detrimental to our relationship.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

We had to turn off a lot of things that we normally did. Like I said, this is like the sales cycle. It's like a production line. You turn it off. When you start it up, it doesn't go back to running very efficiently. You've got to get there. We see that when we get to a steady cadence, we start picking up more momentum. Our velocity numbers at retail pick up. Our promotional activity picks up, and it just builds on itself. I think you'll see that coming to fruition more in the second quarter. Like I said, just what we were able to replenish inventory in the natural channel, we saw a big boost at retail.

[Will Ben Dujou, Investor]

Gotcha. All right. Thanks for the clarity. Last thing, real quick. Are you able to give any sort of guidance for this year of what your revenue targets are?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

I think we'll do that in the next quarter. Obviously, we're believing strongly in growth, returning to growth. Look, the two key things that we have to do to set the foundation, which the entire company is focused on, is reducing short shipments and raising our OTIF rates on time and in full to our customers. Every individual person in this company knows about that, knows where we are, knows the progress we're making, and are focused.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

That'll lay the foundation to accomplish everything that we want to. What we expect to see is top-line growth, margin enhancement, and reduction in freight and logistic cost. That's something that we've been working on. We've been unable to accomplish, but I think you'll see that generate positive cash flow and positive operating income.

[Will Ben Dujou, Investor]

Okay. Awesome. Thanks. That's all I got. Appreciate your time.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

You're welcome.

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, should you have a question, please press star one. Your next question comes from Jack Iyer as a private investor. Your line is now open.

[Jack Iyer, Investor]

Yeah. Hey, Norm. Good morning.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Hi, Jack. Good morning, Jack.

[Jack Iyer, Investor]

I wanted to ask about what you guys think the pathway might look like for getting off of OTC and back listed on an actively traded stock exchange. I know you guys have placed the debt, and cash flow is not so much a concern or not so much a constraint, having cash on hand to be able to fill the orders, the whole supply chain, no half shipments, all that stuff. With the financial metrics sounding like they're going to be significantly improving over the next three quarters, have you guys given any thought to what your timeline is for making a move to get relisted?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Yeah. Trust me, that's something we think about a lot. I've actually written an internal memo and researched it. There's obviously nobody we don't want to remain on the OTCQX, right? We want to uplist to a major exchange.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

We evaluated that before we were delisted a couple of years ago and made the decision to delist because of the punitive nature of potentially raising enough equity to get to the threshold for positive net equity. Today, it's a different story. Obviously, with the restructuring of our balance sheet, we now comply with those requirements. I think there are like four or five other requirements, and we're either there or very, very close.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

The last real key aspect is getting our stock price at the minimum level that the exchanges want. Look, based on what has happened lately, and I think with our continued performance, I think we can get there organically. The question is, how quickly? We've talked to lawyers, bankers, accountants, etc., etc. Everyone has their own opinion.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

I think the consensus that's come back has been a couple of sustained quarters of operating performance should get us pretty close to satisfying all the criteria. Once we do that, we'll begin the application process to uplist. It's a goal that we have. We're monitoring where we are. We've evaluated the criteria and what we need to do. We've come close on a lot of them. We believe, like I said, after some sustained positive performance, we'll be in a position to do that.

[Jack Iyer, Investor]

Okay. Understood. I appreciate the commentary. I have one other quick question that I hope you might comment on. It looks like SG&A was up almost $1.1 million in comparison to last year for Q4. Do you know what the primary drivers of that was?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Yeah. Yeah. This is kind of a—this is kind of a burr under my saddle. It's a combination of timing with certain things, and it's what we'll call our typical non-cash reserves that our auditors require to record for various things. For example, we made an investment in equipment at a co-packer, and we're reverse amortizing it.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

So we're getting a credit back on a per-case basis. When they sort of extrapolate what the time period is, I think it extended past our 36-month target. They make us reserve against the whole thing. Going forward, when we get that reverse amortization, we'll get a credit to COGS. My position is we're going to recover it, but they force us to take a reserve against that equipment. There are things like that that are non-cash.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Frustrating for me because I don't think they really, truly indicate our financial performance. You'll see that in our modified EBITDA reconciliation. We take those things out. That's really what's driving it. It's not like we're spending more money. There's more cash going out the door. They're really non-cash accounting adjustments.

[Jack Iyer, Investor]

Okay. Okay. That makes a lot more sense. Will they be reflected in the year-end or quarter-end financial statements where we can see the cash versus non-cash?

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

Yes. Yes. They should be.

[Jack Iyer, Investor]

I feel like probably a footnote on it. Okay. All right. Great. Appreciate it very much.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

You're welcome.

[Operator]

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to Norm for closing remarks.

[Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.]

I'd like to thank everyone for participating in this morning's earnings call, as well as our employees, customers, and of course, our shareholders. We appreciate everyone's continued support. Have a wonderful day. Thank you.

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

Participants

Analysts

• Will Ben Dujou, Investor
• Douglas McCurdy, CFO at Reed's Inc.
• Jack Iyer, Investor
• Norman Snyder, CEO at Reed's Inc.
• Sean McGowan, Equity Research at Roth Capital Partners